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Tourism in Dandong is thriving because of nosiness.
According to government figures, this Chinese city gets about 10 million visitors a year - not bad for a third-tier city in the north-east. It has its geographic location to thank: Only a river stands between it and the North Korean mainland.
People thus flock to Dandong for a glimpse of the reclusive state which rules through an iron fist and continues to defy world powers by conducting nuclear and missile tests.
The unpredictability of obtaining a North Korean visa also makes Dandong a default choice for many travellers.
Gateway to North Korea
Visitors to Dandong usually make a beeline for the riverfront Yalujiang Park, which faces the North Korean city of Sinuiju. The national park, just 500 metres from Dandong's train station, features a broken bridge that once connected the two border cities.
For 20 yuan (S$4), you can take a walk on the broken bridge, which ends mid-river. At its edge are floor-standing telescopes for rent, which allow people a closer look at Sinuiju's tree-lined riverbank and a never-moving Ferris wheel.
"I see someone rollerblading!" an American tourist excitedly said, peering through one of the scopes.
The United States strafed the bridge during the Korean War in the '50s, to prevent food and military supplies from reaching Chinese troops who had crossed over to help their communist allies.
The North Koreans later dismantled their half, leaving only a row of support columns protruding from the Yalu River.
Today, the newer Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge - situated just beside the broken bridge - forms the official border crossing between China and North Korea.
The K27 train that connects their capitals Beijing and Pyongyang runs through this bridge. Travellers lucky enough to obtain a proper visa can take the train all the way to North Korea.
Yalujiang Park also offers river cruises (50 yuan) and speedboat rides (70 yuan). Some boats whizz by close to the Korean shoreline, but Dandong residents say the other side doesn't mind as long as the vessels don't dock.
On board are hand-held telescopes for rent, but there's nothing dramatic to see except for a few gun-toting border guards and residents by the riverbank - either sitting, walking, cycling, fishing or doing construction work.
A few wave at ogling tourists, but most appear indifferent to the fact they are being watched like characters in some reality TV show.
How do North Koreans really feel about all this bizarre attention? Annoyance, amusement, envy, fear, resignation? These questions played through my mind the entire time I was in Dandong.
North Korean souvenirs
Another popular lookout is a section of the Great Wall about 15 kilometres away from downtown Dandong.
The Tiger Mountain Great Wall (admission costs 40 yuan), which is the easternmost portion of the Ming Dynasty wall, parallels the North Korean border. Here, you can see houses on the other side of the river, people tending the fields and dogs running around.
Most people visit the Great Wall because it is a world wonder.
In Dandong, however, the draw is a spot along the Wall called Yibukua, or "one step across", where the Yalu River trickles down into a creek that measures just a few metres at its narrowest.
North Korean land is marked only by chicken wire and there were no border guards in sight. Still, old hands caution overly excited tourists from approaching the fence.
Like Dandong's other major attractions, you will find in Yibukua vendors plying goods "made in North Korea" - from cigarettes, compact mirrors, animal figurines and chopsticks to North Korean coins and banknotes.
Barter is apparently the method of trade. One of the vendors said the North Koreans hand over souvenir items in exchange for meat and "daily necessities".
North Korea on Chinese mainland
The biggest revelation for me was a North Korean village on China's side of the river. None of the English travel guides or websites I had read mentioned this; even my Chinese friends and co-workers were surprised to hear about it.
Dandong residents call the wide expanse of farmland Jincaoping, while the city's tourist map labels it Huangjincao. Here, only a 2m-high barbwire fence separates the two countries.
If you put a foot through a gap in the fence - as I did - you can say you've set foot on North Korea. Dandong residents say the Chinese government put up the fence only last year, around the time disarmament talks on the North's nuclear programme bogged down.
Across the barbwire, about 20 metres away, I saw a lone man in the field. My Chinese taxi driver yelled out a greeting in Korean, but the man quickly scrambled out of sight.
In Dandong, the North Koreans may only be a short distance away, but there's a distinct feeling that more than a body of water, walls or fences separate them from us. But barring a trip to North Korea, there aren't many places that can offer Dandong's close-up view of the headline-grabbing nation.
Visitor information
Dandong is in Liaoning province, China. It is an hour-and-a-half away by plane from Beijing. Air China has daily flights. Alternatively, visitors can catch daily K27 train trips from Beijing, which takes about 14 hours.
- TODAY/yb
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